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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24887998">In My Sights</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kikyo2022/pseuds/Kikyo2022'>Kikyo2022</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Hazbin Hotel (Web Series)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Alastor Tries (Hazbin Hotel), Alastor is Bad at Feelings (Hazbin Hotel), Alastor is in Hell for a Reason (Hazbin Hotel), Angel Dust-Typical Sexual Content (Hazbin Hotel), Angst, Animal Transformation, Anxiety Attacks, Asexual Alastor (Hazbin Hotel), Asexuality Spectrum, Aspect Is An Absolute Shitlord, Because I Thought It Was A Fun Idea, Because yes, Bilingual Character(s), Blood and Gore, Character Death, Comfort/Angst, Dakota Is Baby, Demon Summoning, Depression, Developing Friendships, Developing Relationship, Dick Jokes, Do We Have A Deal?, Drunken Shenanigans, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Smut, Everyone Needs A Hug, Everyones Contact Names Are Weird, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, F/F, F/M, Family Shenanigans, Flashbacks, Found Family, Grief/Mourning, Haphephobia, Healing, Heavy Drinking, Husk Is Dunkle And You Cant Make Me Think Otherwise, Husk is So Done (Hazbin Hotel), I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I'm Going to Hell, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Inspired by Music, Just Dont Piss Her Off, Like Horrendously Bad, Magic Tricks, Magical Tattoos, Marking, Minor Character Death, Multi, Murder, Musical References, Niffty is cute, No Alastor We Do Not, Non-Consensual Touching, Oh No He's Hot, Other, Past Character Death, Past Child Abuse, Past Relationship(s), Past Sexual Abuse, Pet Names, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protect the Child, Protective Vaggie (Hazbin Hotel), Rating May Change, Reader-Insert, Self-Hatred, Self-Indulgent, Sex Positive Alastor (Hazbin Hotel), Sex Positive Asexual Alastor (Hazbin Hotel), Sir Pentious Is Fucking Great You Haters, Size Difference, Slight Husk/Niffty Imbound, Slow Burn, Swearing, Texting, The Author Regrets Everything, This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things, Violence, Voodoo, Warnings May Change, Way Too Many Tags, but he fails miserably, loss of a loved one, so much swearing, soul contracts</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 01:00:57</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>19,898</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24887998</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kikyo2022/pseuds/Kikyo2022</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The "Mid-Town Sniper". That was you. </p><p>A girl who made her living through murder and deception. You spent your life tearing other people's apart so yours could continue. </p><p>It really didn't come as a surprise when you couldn't reach the pearly gates. You were a murderer, you did bad things.</p><p>This was your punishment.</p><p>So then... why did it feel so right?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Alastor (Hazbin Hotel)/Original Female Character(s), Alastor (Hazbin Hotel)/Reader, Alastor (Hazbin Hotel)/You, Angel Dust &amp; Husk (Hazbin Hotel), Charlie Magne/Vaggie, Husk &amp; Niffty (Hazbin Hotel), Lilith Magne/Lucifer Magne, Original Character(s)/Original Character(s), Original Character(s)/Reader</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>163</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Downwards Spiral</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>You get a brief glance into your job description.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>TW: Drinking, Physical Violence, Gore, Death, Torture, Implied Sexual Assault<br/></p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>You should have known better...</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>You hustled down the busy street, pushing against the crowd as you hurried towards your destination. It was nearing dusk, the time that the hoards of tired office workers began making their way back to their homes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>You let out an indignant huff as a larger man shoulder checked you, knocking you into a slightly less toned but equally irritated individual who simply pushed you off of him with a sneer before continuing on his way.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>For a city that got such high praise, kindness was certainly not one of "The Big Apple's" stand out traits. Come to think of it, why did you even move here anyways? 'Work was nearly just as demanding down south' you mused to yourself as you were jostled yet again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Moving against the foot traffic was slowing you down and at this rate, you were going to be late! You clutched your duffel bag close to your chest as you quickly stepped off the sidewalk and into the nearest alley. Looks like you'd be taking the back way tonight. Not that you minded, the less human interaction the better, you decided as you carefully navigated the twisting turns of New York's dark alleys.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>No longer hindered by the flood of bodies, you managed to reach your destination in record time, a large apartment complex that had been abandoned for several years, if the crumbling foundation and shattered windows were any indication. Setting down the large duffle you had been carrying you rolled up your sleeve to check your watch.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>8:40, a tad later than you'd have liked to arrive but you could make due. You re-adjusted your sleeve over your arm and picked up the bag once more, moving around to the back entrance. You rested your hand on the aged knob and took a few moments to scan the surrounding area. Once you were satisfied with your search you twisted it, pushed open the door, and strolled inside, pulling it closed behind you.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>You failed to notice the strange, human-like shape watching from the shadows.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Taking a hard right you passed the decaying front desk and took the stairs two at a time, your skirt whipping around with your movement. Your three-story climb only took you a few minutes and soon you were faced with the door leading out to the roof.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>You'd been here a few times in the past, the building overlooking a quite popular men's club where your targets would occasionally spend their time and money on women and cheap booze. You stepped out dropping the duffle as you near the edge, the roof had a small raised barrier of concrete that rose to your hips to protect tenants from accidentally waltzing off to their death.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>You leaned out over the edge, resting on the low wall as you took in the sights, or more accurately, the lack of them. The building was stationed in a less-traveled section of the city, ruled by several street gangs and a few mobs. Smart people stayed clear of this part of town, however, the occasional tourist would stop by to take pictures or explore. Most of the time they ended up raped, shot, or both, their belongings stripped from the body before it was discarded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Your gaze wandered to a particular spot where you had gotten quite the show one night.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>A man stumbled out of the nearby bar, hand clenched around the neck of a beer, seemingly trying to down it in one go. It was obvious this wasn't his first drink, his shaking limbs and flushed face being a dead give away. He couldn't have been much older than his early thirties, his auburn hair a complete mess, shoes untied and jacket crumpled, falling off of one shoulder. It was difficult to make out his facial features from this distance but he had to have been at least somewhat attractive, otherwise, the scantily dressed blonde behind him likely wouldn't have given him the time of day.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>You had paused in your set up to watch with some amusement as she continually tried, and failed, to get his attention, eventually even taking his hand and pressing it against her breast as she leaned into his face. Your amusement only heightened as you watched him shove her away landing her flat onto her ass. You could her shrill screams from your perch as he stared at her for a moment before going back to ignoring her, nursing the bottle in his hands. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Your smile faltered as you noticed a group of five or so men approach from the back alley, clothing dark, and knives drawn. The girl rose and quickly rushed over to them, whole body shaking with what you assumed were overly dramatized tears, and began pointing at the man still screeching like a damn banshee. One of the men turned his back to you to comfort the woman giving you a perfect view of the flaming scythe and words Devils Playthings stitched into the back of his jacket. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Gang members. And by the looks of things, Blondie was under their protection.</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>This particular gang wasn't one of the well-known groups in the area, you'd never seen the symbol before so they were either new or were extremely skilled at laying low. Likely the former. However, that didn't stop you from leaning forward in anticipation. Just because they were new didn't mean they couldn't pull their weight, after all, it was four v one, they were armed and their target was currently under the influence as well. He was going to be slaughtered.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>During your little trip to la-la land, the four gang members had begun to surround the man who had just now noticed their presence. He swiveled his head, taking in the group for a moment, switching focus from one man to the next before settling his gaze on Blondie in the back. You rested your head on your palm, fully expecting him to make a run for it, or lunge at the girl, either way, would be entertaining and likely to end in his demise. What happened next was something you did not expect though.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>He lowered his head for a moment before throwing back the last swig of alcohol. After a moment he wiped his mouth before slamming the bottle into the wall behind him, effectively breaking it and leaving him with just the broken neck. He lowered his stance a bit, pushing back his left leg and raising his makeshift weapon, holding it akin to how one would wield a large knife or dagger. That was all it took before they jumped him.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The first man swung with his fist, executing a sloppy but effective blow to the man's shoulder forcing him back a few steps. He advanced again for another punch but was quickly taken down as the man grabbed him in a chokehold and slammed his knee to his stomach hard before releasing him. The kick forced him to waste whatever meal he may have eaten earlier that day as it ended up regurgitated on the pavement. His buddies came to back him up, one grabbing and dragging the now dry-heaving male away while the other two squared up, knives at the ready.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>You noticed the male on the right was speaking, probably trying to intimidate the other as his buddy advanced, knife swinging towards his opponent's face. Having only been somewhat distracted by the rant, he managed to step back to dodge most of the damage, receiving a gash on his cheek. He turned towards the offender lurching forward, hitting his forearm first as the kid blocked the attack before connecting a swift blow to the aburn's jaw. The man stumbled backward, dazed as the other member rushed forward stabbing at the man's stomach. He managed to grab his wrist and with the momentum sent him face-first into the wall of the bar knocking him unconscious. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The last member abandoned his friend who was still reeling from the kick and sprinted forward with a yell knife raised towards the man's head. Hearing the noise he turned swiftly, throwing his arm out as he moved and the bottle's sharp edge dug into the soft flesh on his opponent's neck, nicking the artery as blood began to pour from the wound. The bleeding man's momentum carried his arm forward allowing him to embed his knife into his killer's side before falling to the floor. The man let out a yell as he stumbled back, dropping the bottle and grasping the knives handle. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>You were floored. This man had managed to incapacitate one grown man and kill another piss drunk while keeping the other two at bay. A smile slipped into your face, you honestly hoped he made it out of this alive</span>
  </em>
  
  <em>
    <span>if only to cure your boredom for a while. Your phone dinged, pulling your attention from the fight. 'Must be the contact.' Retrieving said device confirmed your guess as you quickly skimmed the lengthy message before deciding you'd have plenty of time to read in a few minutes. Right now you had a show to watch.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>You turned your attention back to the fight. While you had been consumed with your device, he had managed to off another man. Not without sacrifice, his side was still bleeding and he had several new cuts and bruises along with a split lip. His bottle was nowhere to be seen, however, there did seem to be more shattered glass on the ground than there was earlier. You tried to spot the girl who had started all of this, but she was gone. 'Probably ran away.' You watched silently as he delivered a quick left hook, breaking the other man's nose before grabbing his head and smashing his forehead against his knee. He let go and stumbled back slightly, the other man fell to the ground, dazed but still conscious. The boy who had gone down first was up now, you expected him to try once more but instead, he grabbed his remaining buddy and hightailed it out of there. You continued to observe as the man swayed for a few moments before crashing to the pavement. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>'There goes my source of entertainment.' You thought with a frown. You couldn't tell from here if he was dead or just unconscious but he wasn't moving. You continued to stare at the motionless body before deciding it wasn't your place to intervene. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>If he lived, he lived, if not... </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Well, there wasn't much you could about that now. You moved back from the ledge retreating back to your duffel to finish the preparations. You did what you were paid to do and left, not sparing a second glance.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>He was gone when you arrived the next day.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>You sighed, pushed yourself off the ledge, and with one last glance towards the pub turned away. A glance towards your watch confirmed that you had been in your head for well over ten minutes, which was longer than you would have liked. You made your way back to the bag, unzipped it, and began pulling out your change of clothing along with the rifle case. Pushing the latter off to the side you made quick work of stripping and redressing into the more "appropriate" outfit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Your white blouse was replaced by a black, form-fitting, long sleeve shirt. The pencil skirt was discarded in favor of a pair of black leggings, boots traded for dark sneakers, and a pair of black fingerless gloves to match. To top it all off, you tied the dark purple bandana across your face, adjusting it so that only your eyes and above would show. You quite liked the bandana, it was dark, but not so much so that it could be mistaken for the same color as the rest of your ensemble, and it had sharp, white teeth stitched onto it in the shape of a horrific smile. It kinda reminded you of Ayato's mask from Tokyo Ghoul, which was the whole reason you bought it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Once you were satisfied with your appearance, and after tying your hair up into a ponytail, you returned to your rifle case. The case itself wasn't anything special, hard plastic with two clasps that held it closed with a felt interior. Flicking the two clasps up, you reached in and pulled out your prized possession. An anti-material bolt action sniper rifle. One might say it was overkill, seeing as it could penetrate lightly armored military vehicles, but you didn't care. It did its job, not a single person had yet to walk away from it alive.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Due to your steadily increasing budget, you had been able to deck the gun out with some pretty fancy upgrades over the years. A variable zoom scope here, a tactical suppressor there, and a little bipod in case you got tired of holding its weight. The magazine could only hold ten rounds max, but that wasn't much of a problem in your line of business. Being an assassin meant you only needed one bullet to kill and the 12.7×108mm rounds did more than enough damage for a single bullet to be fatal, even on the off chance that you missed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>You placed the rifle in your lap as you stuffed your old clothes into the duffle before zipping it shut. You picked up the bipod from its case, walked back over to the concrete ledge, and began setting up the gun. You had used this spot before so you managed to get everything in order pretty quickly. Setting up the bipod was simple, next you loaded the gun with a new magazine and carefully balanced it on the stand, finally, the position was adjusted so that you were aiming towards the front door of the club. An extra magazine lay on concrete to your right as an extra precaution, and the rifle case was off to your left. Once everything was situated, you sat down and watched your target zone, barley peeking over the barrier.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>An hour passed with nothing eventful happening and you were growing bored, you should have seen the target by now. This contact really sucked at giving accurate information. Just as you were about to pack up a man stumbled out of the club, leaning pretty heavily on his buddy as he tried to walk. He was an older gentleman, probably late forties to early fifties. His grey suit was wrinkled but for the most part clean and with a quick glance you were able to confirm that this was the target.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>William James Aster. Once one of the highest paying donators for one of the local gangs turned rat. According to the contact this man had shown up to a meeting bugged, the room was flooded with cops soon after. Luckily most of the people shot or captured were low-level lackeys or errand boys. Stand-ins. None of the important members had attended, however, they were made aware of the incident once a rather determined reporter managed to get the story on the air. No one messes with a gang and walks away scot-free and you just happened to be the lucky person they chose for the job. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>You quickly adjusted your posture and took the gun into your hands swiveling it towards him. Shouldering the rifle, you pulled your elbows in and pressed your cheek against the stock, looking down the scope. You took a moment to line the red dot up with his head, slowly adjusting your aim as he made his way down the street. You pulled in a breath, relaxed your body, and clicked off the safety. You took a few seconds to breathe and properly aline yourself, then you pulled the trigger.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It recoiled with a bang, the butt of the gun jamming into the pocket of your shoulder. You sucked in a breath before pulling the gun upright pointing towards the sky as you peeked over the edge to confirm the kill. It was a clean shot, straight through his chest, blood regurgitating from his mouth. You'd hit a lung, even if he wasn't dead now there was no way he'd be able to survive the twenty-minute wait for an ambulance. That didn't mean his buddy wouldn't try though, he was already on the phone while simultaneously trying to stop the bleeding.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Satisfied with the shot, you clicked the safety into place and rushed to pack up. You'd let the young man be, he wasn't on any list you knew of and you ultimately wouldn't gain anything upon his death.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Slinging the bag over your shoulder you high tailed it out of there, taking the stairs two at a time before busting through the door. You only spared a moment to close it behind you before sprinting down the nearby alleyway. Once you felt that your gotten far enough away you pulled off the bandana, tossed it in the bag, and pulled out a dark green jacket to add a bit of color to your outfit so that you didn't look like you were trying to become one with the shadows. Normal society would look at you weird if you were dressed in nothing but the color back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After donning the jacket you moved the duffel so that it was strapped to your shoulders and rested against your back, leaving you free to stuff your hands in your pockets as you stepped out onto the streets. The sidewalk was much more manageable now that there weren't hundreds of people stuffing it up. Other than the occasional car or stray passerby, you were alone.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>You were stupid to think you were actually alone.</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>You stopped when you reached the opening to a parking lot. A car had pulled up, so you politely moved a few steps back to let them enter the lot. They didn't move. You squinted trying to see past the tinted windows before the passage side window rolled down. There were two men in the front seats, a brunette driving, and a blonde smoking in the passager seat. A flicker of movement alerted you that there was another individual in the car with potential for another.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Heeeya, babygirl. What's a pretty thing like you doing roaming the streets at night?" The blonde smirked as he looked you up and down. You gave him the most deadpan look you could muster before turning and continuing down the street, hoping they'd take the hint and leave. They didn't, and the car began moving slow enough to keep up with you walking.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Aww come on doll, didn't anyone ever tell you it's rude to walk away when someone's talking to ya?" You stopped for a moment to glare at him, "Didn't anyone ever teach you that it's rude to follow people?" You snapped as you resumed your walk. Your little outburst seemed to have pulled a chuckle from him as the car came to a stop.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Well, you can't really be considered a person now can you? After all, only a monster would murder someone in cold blood. I've heard that you actually enjoy it, getting paid is just an added bonus isn't it? Kinda cowardly if I do say so my self, hiding in the shadows waiting to strike down the next unsuspecting stranger from a distance. You never even give them the chance to acknowledge your presence, slipping away before anyone even realizes what's going on." He took a deep breath with the cigarette in his mouth before continuing, smoke escaping from his mouth as he spoke.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Ya know... It took a while for us to track you down girlie. No one wanted to spill the beans on the 'Mid-Town Sniper' but we finally got one to talk. Heh, and look at cha, you're just a kid. It's sort of a shame you had to go out this way, but don't worry, I'll make it quick." He sneered, pulling out a pistol as the last words left his mouth. Your eyes widened as you hit the ground, dirt flying up from the impact of the bullet, dusting you as you moved. You didn't give him a chance to fire again as you bolted across the lot.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>You heard the sound of the car doors slamming and heavy footsteps behind you as you ran. You might have been faster if you had dropped the duffel but you didn't have time to shrug it off as you sprinted towards the street at the opposite end of the parking lot. You realized this mistake as he caught up to you, grabbing your wrist and pushing you to the pavement. You landed hard skinning your palm as it shot out to catch you, the other still in the man's grip. You struggled with him for a minute as he tried to wrestle your duffle away from you but eventually, he was able to remove it as his buddies came over to hold you down. You settled for glaring at him as he took a step back to look you over.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You know, your not much of a looker..." He pulled another drag from his cigarette before tossing it aside and puffing the could of smoke into your face, making your eyes water. "I mean, don't get me wrong, you are attractive, but you could definitely use a bit of makeup. Wouldn't hurt to put on some eyeliner or something. Maybe cut down on the black, it's really not your color. And as for your hair... " He reached down and yanked the ponytail out causing your hair to fall back down into its normal style. "I think it looks better like this" he mused as he played with a strand before letting it go. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>If looks could kill, everyone within a five-block vicinity would be dead by now. Blondie, as you shall now dub him, raised his gun and placing the muzzle against your stomach, began to lift your shirt with it. You lashed out, kicking him in the groin and sighing in relief as your shirt fell back down. Your small victory was short-lived though as he recovered quickly and smacked you in the face with the pistol. It split your lip, the taste of iron become prominent in your mouth as you went to spit on him. He wasn't impressed and the men that were holding you down repositioned themselves. One held your legs while another had your arms and the third yanked your head back by grabbing your hair. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>After the men were situated, Blondie pulled out a knife, a switchblade to be precise. He paused for a moment before softly dragging the blade across your arm. He didn't draw blood for the first few minutes, instead, he took his time and watched you carefully, noting every time you flinched. Eventually, he pressed the tip into your shoulder blade and dragged the knife down, making you hiss and jerk away as a small rivulet of blood began to trickle from the wound. He just chuckled and continued creating small streams of blood across your body. You were given no warning before the knife was buried in your hand. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>You tried to scream but a hand was quickly slapped over your mouth muffling your cry as tears began to fall. You were struggling to pull in breaths as he twisted the blade, pulling it out only to dig it into your thigh. You jerked, an involuntary reaction, accidentally increasing the size of the wound along with the pain. You could feel your chest heaving as your body tried to process the unbearable pain you were in. To add insult to injury he grabbed your hair, slamming your head into the ground. Your skull exploded in pain and your vision tunneled, becoming blurry and unfocused. You were pretty sure he was talking throughout, but your head hurt too much for you to focus on his words.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Your mouth was flooded with blood. You must have bitten your tongue at some point.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>You were pretty out of it when he pulled down your pants, and your mind was foggy as they took turns violating you. You were kinda glad that you couldn't concentrate on what was happening, but you were also pretty concerned that the sheer amount of blood loss and possible concussion was likely a factor to your wavering consciousness. By the time they were done, you were covered in blood, dirt, and bodily fluids.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>You watched numbly as Blondie retrieved his pistol, cocking it and shoving it in your face. "Any last words bitch? Any lingering guilt you wanna get off your chest?" He said as he lined the muzzle up with your right eye. You stared at him for a moment before mustering the strength to spit, stretching your face into the most horrific smile you could manage.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Guilt? I never did anything I'd feel guilty about." Were the words you choked out before everything went dark with a bang.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Disclamer: I have no fucking clue what gangs are like, let alone anything about guns. I've also never written a fight scene before and it kinda looks funny from an outsiders POV, but I'll try to do better next time ;-;</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. A Sky As Red As Blood</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Oop, you died.<br/>Oh heeeeeey, your appearance has changed... Along with a few other details.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>TW: Blood and Gore, Minor Character Death, Torture, Noncon (nothing too bad but still putting it here anyways)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>You winced at the sharp, fleeting pain in your skull. Keeping your eyes closed, you pressed your palm to your eye applying a bit of pressure until the pain faded. Dropping your hand you opened your eyes with only a bit of difficulty, squinting at the bright light that immediately penetrated your vision.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>You laid there for a moment wondering why you were still alive before you realized you could still see out of both your eyes, not just the left one. You furrowed your brow and pushed yourself up into a sitting position. You took that moment to look at your immediate surroundings.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>You were in an alley near a dumpster, a naked bulb positioned above the dumpster was flickering, likely the source of your momentary blindness a minute ago. The ground beneath you was gravel that was digging into your skin. After a few seconds, you decided to stand to try and escape the uncomfortable grit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As you were running your hands over your pants to dislodge any rocks that may have gotten stuck in your palms you noticed something:</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They weren't human.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Correction... They weren't fully human. They were still humanoid but your nails had lengthened into sharp points at the end, and your skin tone had become significantly paler. You messed around with them for a while, discovering that your nails were more like claws, growing larger and shrinking back down at will.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>You could only imagine what the rest of your body looked like.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>You decided it was about time you moved. Placing your hand on the brick wall you leaned out of the alleyway and peeked out into the street. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The first thing you saw was the scattering of several creatures. Each one was vastly different from the next. Some of them looked like deformed beings, others had a humanoid shape or appearance. Looking around you noticed there were quite a lot of anthropomorphic animals each with unnatural designs and colors. </span>
</p><p>
  <span> "This is some fucking furry shit..." You muttered as you stared at one in particular, a purple wolf with a shit ton of piercings and pink highlights running through her Mohawk styled hair. Or was it fur? You couldn't really tell.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The second thing you noticed was that the sky wasn't blue anymore. It was red. And in the sun's place was a glowing pentagram. You blinked as you looked out over the various shops and buildings, many crumbling or in disrepair. It was then that everything clicked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>You had died and you were in hell. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>You probably should have felt surprised or even a bit angry, but instead, you felt nothing. You had always known you were a bad person, hell, you had killed people during your lifetime. To be honest you kind of expected to end up here. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Stepping out, you felt a sinking weight begin to manifest in your stomach. Everyone in sight was definitely taller than you and quite a few of them were observing you as you emerged. You took a breath, straightened your posture, and began walking. You needed to find a mirror. If this is what the population in hell looked like you couldn't imagine how your appearance may have changed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It took you a few minutes but you managed to find a storefront with glass display windows that were more reflective than see-through. Your eyes widened as you stared at yourself in shock.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Your skin had somehow managed to become even paler than you remembered it while you were alive and your hair had turned pure white with baby blue highlights accenting your bangs and tips. Looking up higher you spotted two fluffy white ears that resembled a fox, also fading to the same blue at their tips.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>You turned your attention to your face. Your eyes had gotten larger and looked like they were surrounded by eyeliner. They were each different colors as well. The left one had a light pink iris with a slightly yellowed sclera while the right had an orange iris and a pastel purple sclera. Your pupils were more of an oval shape than round. Your teeth had also gone through a drastic change, all of which were still white, but razor-sharp with the four canines being slightly larger than the rest of your teeth. You poked out your tongue and were relieved to see that it was still normal if not a tad darker.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>You backed up a bit to take in the rest of your form.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>You were thinner and noticeably way shorter, standing at maybe 5'0" you noted with a frown. You were already short before all of this and you had a feeling this was God's way of messing with you. Your figure was still the same it just seemed slightly more pronounced now that you were awfully small.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>You noticed the wings next.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>You couldn't really tell what they were supposed to be modeled after, but they looked kind of like simplified dragon or bat wings fading from maroon to a deep purple along the edges. They weren't overly large and after a few attempts, you managed to fold them comfortably behind your back, exposing the last new addition to your body. An extremely fluffy tail that perfectly matched your ears. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>All in all, it wasn't horrible? You had honestly expected to be disfigured or some lizard lookalike. you still looked like yourself, just with a few additions and tweaks. The decrease in height was not ideal though. It also didn't help that you looked more cute than threatening.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Your clothes, which were appallingly dirty at this point, we're still the same. It was a good thing they were, you'd probably have a seizure if you woke up dressed in an entirely different outfit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>You sighed and after taking one more fleeting glance at your reflection, began to walk down the sidewalk. As you wandered around you noticed that most of the buildings were in disrepair, windows shattered, glass littering the sidewalk along with bricks and chunks of cement. There were quite a few craters lying about as well, both in the sides of buildings and along the street. Vehicles were completely crushed and left abandoned on the road.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Looking around you noticed a few demons laying on the ground. Blood, or at least what you think was blood, pooled around them. The color of the puddles threw you off a bit, some were the normal red but quite a lot of it was black or an odd shade of purple or blue.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Out of sheer curiosity, you approached one demon in particular, he was the smallest of the bunch so you felt safest confronting him. You looked around and picked up a pipe of some sort that was among the rubble and poked his arm. He didn't react. You furrowed your brows, poking him again before turning him over. You inhaled sharply at the sight.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His chest cavity was completely torn open, the edges of the wounds burnt and slightly glowing. His eyes were open but they were glossed over, his face twisted in what you assumed was pure agony. He wasn't moving at all and you felt fear take over your body once again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Demons could die. How? You had no fucking clue, but you could tell this was bad. Very, VERY, bad. You didn't have a weapon. You whipped your head around, looking for literally anything sharp to defend yourself with but couldn't find anything but shards of glass from a nearby car.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>You'd make do. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>After a moment of hesitation, you snatched a piece of cloth off the now deceased demon, wrapping it around your hand as you approached the car. You snatched a decent chunk of glass and held it close, examining it as you thought things over. Whatever that thing was, was not going to be stopped by a piece of glass but you ignored that fact.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Other demons could be hurt with it and that's all that mattered at the moment. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>You slipped the shard into the pocket of your hoodie for later and moved back onto the sidewalk. You looked up towards the sky as you walked, feet moving on autopilot as you become lost in your head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was possible to kill a demon, this troubled you a lot. Hell was supposed to be a place for sinners to suffer for an eternity, but for some reason, you could die a second time. Where did you go if you died again? To double hell? That thought made you snicker, shaking your head as you hopped over a fallen pillar.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ah, that was another thing. Why did everything in this area look as if it got hit with an atomic bomb? The place where you originally emerged from was fairly well kept so you doubted the rest of hell looked like this constantly. In fact, it looked like a normal city, if you ignored the vending machines for drugs and the store you just passed hat had intestines hanging in the window.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"The people here don't seem to be suffering at all. In fact, most of them look to be enjoying themselves." You muttered as you passed a demon smoking a blunt, giggling to himself as stumbled out of some elaborate strip club. "The worst of the worst come here only to find an abundance of the very things that defiled them in the first place. This is pretty much heaven for sinners." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>You were walking along the outskirts of a park now. Most of the trees and flora were dead or on their way to dying, however, there were some strange plants that seemed to be flourishing. Shades of red, dark blues and purples were prominent with only a few greens incorporated. You weren't sure if the plants were dead due to a lack of care or if they just couldn't survive down here. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>You shrugged to yourself and continued on, passing a large building which you could only assume was a porn studio or club if the large sign that screamed hot girls was anything go off of.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>You took a second to look it over before confirming that it was indeed a porn studio and you just hadn't seen the huge letters labeling it as such. On the center of the building were three large V's. You weren't sure what they stood for but you really didn't care as you walked past it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Turning the corner you saw a huge clock tower rising far above the other buildings around it. The face was decorated with a pentagram and the usual numbers one to twelve were depicted with roman numerals. Below the clock was a countdown reading: Next Cleanse |365| Days. Your ear twitched, pointing off to your left as it caught the sound of a woman's screeching voice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Frowning, you turn your attention to the bar across the street. Several large televisions were placed against the window. You crossed the road to stand with the other demons to watch. A demoness with a horrifically stretched neck, bleach blonde hair, and bright red eyes is on the screen, talking about the flood of overlords and demons alike trying to dominate each other in a race to gain new territory following the recent extermination.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What the hell is an extermination?” You asked out loud, eyes still on the screen as it cut to a video of the area you had just left behind, bodies now being looted by other demons.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The crowd around you laughs at your expense while one lizardlike demon looks over at you with an incredulous look on his face. "Are you fucking serious? You know, the one day out of the year where the angels come to reduce the population down here by cutting us down? How do you not know this?." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>You let out a small hum. 'So that's what the clock is for, a means of predicting the next mass murder.' You begin to back away, well aware of the many eyes on your form as you leave the area.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A small part of you wanted to shrink into yourself at all the looks you were receiving as you wandered around but you stood tall, shoulders back, arms folded behind you as you walked with fake confidence. You were bound to attract some attention with your out of place color scheme and small height. Might as well own it, people were less likely to attack someone who appeared confident than someone who wore fear on their face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Your senses had definitely heightened, as you could hear things off in the distance you normally couldn't. There was the occasional scream or gunshot, but you figured that probably wasn't uncommon in hell. Your sense of smell was also enhanced, so much so that one demon's perfume had you crossing the street just to make the scent bearable. Sight didn't seem to be affected, however, as the sky began to dim and you were unable to pick up on any difference in your capability to see in the dark.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>You found yourself sitting at the edge of a lake, grey pebbles covering the surrounding ground instead of dirt or sand. As the blood redness of the sky faded to rust, you noticed something that you hadn't before. It looked to be some sort of planet, a white orb surrounded by clouds. Or, at least that's what you thought it was. Until you noticed the vague halo above its surface.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>'That must be heaven' you thought to yourself as you paused to admire it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It really was beautiful, even from this distance and you had no doubt that it was more pleasant on its surface. And yet you couldn't help the mild disgust from creeping into your abdomen. According to everything you'd been taught, heaven was where those who followed God's ideals would end up. So why was it acceptable for angels to drop in for a casual murder spree while a woman who killed as a means of survival would be damned to hell for their "sin".</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wasn't right, you decided as you sneered up at the glowing dot in the sky. As you were mentally hurling your disdain at the sorry excuse for a paradise, you heard something approach. You made to move out of the way before being stopped when the demon placed their hand on your shoulder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Hey are y-"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>You couldn't hear them very well, blood was rushing through your ears so fast that you couldn't hear anything. You stiffened, fur standing on end as a low growl began in your throat. Your vision suddenly began to bleed red as your body hyper-focused on the place they were touching you. </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>He slammed your head into the ground laughing all the while. You swear you felt something break before he wrapped his hand around your neck, squeezing tightly. Your eyes bulged as you thrashed below him, trying to throw him off of you. After a few minutes, you were beginning to choke as spots began to claim your vision. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>You were nearly about to pass out before he eased up, allowing you to breathe again. You sputtered, tears falling as you greedily gulped in air. He dug the knife into your side and pressed his face against your neck, trailing small kisses from your neck and traveling down. You couldn't help the small whine you released while you tried to squirm away from him.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>He was down to your shoulder now, bitting down, LeAvInG mArKs YoU dIdN't WaNt</span>
  </em>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>And suddenly reality rushes back in, hitting you like a freight train.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Your ears were ringing and the only thing you could smell was blood. A lot of blood. Your vision was blurry but steadily coming back into focus. To add to your confusion, you tasted iron and it felt like you were currently down on all fours. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>You gulp down air like a drowning man, chest heaving, while your vision cleared. The first thing you focused on was the mangled corpse of some sort of demon, body ripped to shreds and blood coating nearly everything in sight. You winced, looking away only to find yourself looking into your reflection on the surface of the lake.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>'What the fuuuuuck...' You didn't look anything like the girl you had seen in the mirror earlier. Somehow you had transformed into a fox that was the size of a damn wolf. You were fairly certain your fur was the same color but it was impossible to tell due to your entire face being caked in the demon's blood. Your claws were like mini daggers and your wings had grown considerably, stretching to a wingspan of about 10 feet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>To add to your horror, the demon that you thought you killed was now twitching, parts of its body reforming itself slowly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As a bonus surprise, several pebbles were now floating in the air, surrounded by a light blue glow. You closed your eyes and you feel yourself still trembling while you took in deep breaths to slowly calm yourself. After doing this for some time you felt okay enough to begin to move, only to fall down when you felt something crack. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>You cried out and slammed your eyes shut as your body began to shift, bones breaking and reconstructing themselves, wings snapping, and changing position. Your claws retracted, drawing blood while your fur began to merge with your body. Eventually, the pain stopped and you were able to open your eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>You were breathing heavily as you looked down at your form. You were humanoid again and for some reason, your clothes were just as you left them. You jumped slightly at the sound of rock hitting rock as the blue glow dissipated, allowing the pebbles to fall back to the ground. Your entire body was aching with phantom pain as you stood on shaking legs.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>You reached into your pocket only to find tiny, useless slivers of glass. You frowned and emptied the pocket, tossing the prices carelessly on the ground. You made your way over to the demon who was still regenerating and crouched beside them. You wasted little time as you shoved your hand into their pockets pulling out a small kitchen knife and leather wallet, inside of which was several hundred dollar bills. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>You left them on the ground and you walked down the street in a slight rush to find somewhere to stay for the night. You walked for a good twenty minutes before you finally come across an apartment building that had a vacancy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>You entered the complex still trembling, only stopping to speak with the receptionist, who didn't even bat an eye at the state of your attire. She accepted a few bills and handed over a pair of keys before returning to her book. Room 113, second floor. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>You didn't even bother with the elevator, instead opting for the flight of stairs to your left. You reached the room without trouble and little interaction except for a quick "Fuck off" from a couple making out near the stairs.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>You rushed to unlock the door, hands shaking as you fumbled with the key. You finally managed to get it open slamming the door behind you. You leaned into the hardwood, sliding down until you reached the floor. You pressed the heels of your hands into your eyes as you tried to process the events that lead to you being here. You dropped your hands, pulling your knees up to hide your face in them instead.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>You stayed that way till morning.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>The spacing in the last chapter was giving me a bit of a headache so I tried to space things out more in this one.</p><p>I am not someone with PTSD but I am heavily researching it so I don't completely fuck this up. I am however familiar with depression and anxiety so hopefully I can play around with those a bit in the future as well.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Years Come And Gone</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Time passes and you begin to get comfortable with your new life.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Tw: Minor Character Death, Physical Injury, Brief Mentions of Child Abuse</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“You’ve got to be shitting me.”</p><p>You peeked at the city from between the curtains of one of your larger windows situated in the living room. The streets were absolute chaos, explosions going off almost constantly as a few unlucky demons ran for their lives. </p><p>You watched uncaring as an exterminator swooped down before some sort of cockroach, cutting off his head and stabbing the body continuously. You had no doubt he was already dead from the first blow, but these so-called angels loved making a mess out of their victims. </p><p>You moved away from the window and pulled the curtain closed, clicking off the tabletop lamp situated nearby. This had to be the worst extermination you'd seen since you arrived nearly four years ago, and that was really saying something as last year over roughly about two thousand souls had been destroyed according to the media.</p><p>You decided to hunker down in your apartment's master bathroom with one of your knives. Not the most dignified place to hide but you really didn't care, more focused on surviving the next 12 hours. Once settled in the questionable safety of the tub you pulled the curtain closed and pulled out your hellphone.</p><p>The coverage down here was spotty at best, most of the models available were cheaply made flip phones but you had managed to get ahold of one of the "nicer" models. It was basically just a first-gen iPhone with less storage and no capability to download or play games. That was fine though, the only thing you really need the device for was communication and access to social media.</p><p>Hatebook was fucking weird though, and you tried to avoid that like the plague.</p><p>You’re not complaining, but you can’t deny you miss your iPhone 6. Hell had a habit of taking beloved brands from the surface and creating cheap, barley passable knockoff versions. You're also a little disappointed over the fact that you had died in 2015, an age where technology was improving at breakneck speeds and were unable to experiment with what companies had to offer. If this was Hell’s cheap knockoff stuff, you could only imagine how things had improved topside.</p><p>Although you weren't really sure if you'd even want to be alive right now, according to the new flood of demons dropping in daily there was some sort of pandemic slowly taking the world by storm. The weak died constantly while others were blissfully unaware that they had the virus. According to the media, it was impossible to detect in some people, a true ninja among a world of germs. </p><p>'Yeah, no thanks.'</p><p>With a slight frown, you sent a quick group text out to assure your two friends that you were in a safe area before exiting the tub and snatching a couple of pillows, a blanket, and a pair of pajamas, quickly rushing back to the bathroom once you heard something land on the roof. You made sure the door was locked before dropping the items in the tub. Your phone vibrated as you changed into an oversized shirt and shorts. Once you were comfortable you adjusted the pillows and crawled back in the tub. Once you were situated you pulled out the phone again and pulled up the text.</p><p><b>3:07 AM </b> <b> <em> •  </em> </b> <b>Rated-R4Real</b></p><p>
  <em> Glad to see your still kick'n babe. Currently hiding out in the neighbors closet like a creep :) </em>
</p><p><b>3:07 AM </b> <b> <em> •  </em> </b> <b>Game Over Screen™</b></p><p>
  <em> ... Why? </em>
</p><p>
  <b>3:07 AM • Rated-R4Real</b>
</p><p>
  <em> Why what? </em>
</p><p>
  <b> 3:08 AM • Game Over Screen™ </b>
</p><p>
  <em>  Why are you hiding in the neighbors closet? Why are you in their house in the first place?!  </em>
</p><p><b>3:08 AM </b> <b> <em> •  </em> </b> <b>Rated-R4Real</b></p><p>
  <em> Ahh... Long story short: I stayed out too long, didn't have time to get home before the divines decided to bless us with their presence. </em>
</p><p><b>3:09M </b> <b> <em> •  </em> </b> <b>Rated-R4Real</b></p><p>
  <em> Did you know he has lingerie in here? Not even men's, it's seriously a set of pink, lacey bra and panties in plus size. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> HOLY SHIT do you think he wears this?!?! </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Your face scrunched up at the thought of his reptilian neighbor dressed in nothing but women's underthings.</p><p> </p><p><b>3:09 AM </b> <b> <em> •  </em> </b> <b>Game Over Screen™</b></p><p>
  <em> ... I really hope not </em>
</p><p><b>3:10 AM </b> <b> <em> •  </em> </b> <b>Rated-R4Real</b></p><p>
  <em> Hmm... Wanna pic? &gt;:3 </em>
</p><p><b>3:10 AM </b> <b> <em> •  </em> </b> <b>Game Over Screen™</b></p><p>
  <em> Aspect I swear to God if you send me a picture... </em>
</p><p><b>3:11 AM </b> <b> <em> •  </em> </b> <b>Rated-R4Real</b></p><p>
  <em> *image.jpg </em>
</p><p><b>3:11 AM </b> <b> <em> •  </em> </b> <b>Game Over Screen™</b></p><p>
  <em> ... I'm going to kill you. I'm literally going to kill you </em>
</p><p> </p><p>*Fun Size has joined the chat*</p><p><b>3:13 AM </b> <b> <em> •  </em> </b> <b>Fun_Size</b></p><p>
  <em> Hi guys! </em>
</p><p><b>3:13 AM </b> <b> <em> •  </em> </b> <b>Fun_Size</b></p><p>
  <em> Um... Why is Aspect wearing women's underwear over his clothes? </em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Your eye twitched. Life down here was... Interesting to say the least. You chuckled to yourself and dropped the phone in your lap ignoring it as it continued to vibrate. How you made friends in a place filled with violence and bloodshed you had no idea but they were surprisingly entertaining when they wanted to be.</p><p>Now that you think about it, you did remember how you had met each of them. However, you would never have considered each other friends at the time. You were fairly certain Aspect had wanted to rip your throat out for the majority of your first year together.</p><p>You're still not sure why he had blamed everything on you, after all, he was the one who summoned you in the first place. You simply took what you wanted, albeit a bit sooner than he probably thought, and fulfilled his wish. He received power, wealth, and protection and in return, you got a servant. </p><p>In Hell, it was only possible to die one day out of the year, unless of course you were targeted by someone who had an angels blade in their possession, so safety was practically guaranteed! Power was easy enough to come by. Slaughter a few demons here and there, claim a territory, and you were set. With power came influence and money, more than enough of it for both of you to "live" comfortably and still have plenty leftover.</p><p>You tilted your head back, resting it against the tub as you shifted to find a more comfortable position. He had been your very first summoning and for some reason that was special to you, so you decided to keep him around.</p><p>You were still fairly new to Hell at the time, having only been damned about a year prior, during which you spent most of your time studying and collecting information. That was how you learned that the change you went through on your first night was normal and that you were able to take a different form as well. </p><p>Your true demon form.</p><p>When In this form you grew about a foot, allowing you to be eye level with most demons around you. Your nails grew out and became sharper, you had also found that you were unable to retract them as you could normally. Your right eye became a void as black blood trickled from the socket, mimicking tears while the left became a solid blue, a white pinprick acting as its pupil. Your fur puffed out and became sharp, if you hit someone with your tail at this time you could cause serious damage. Your wings grew to match your height as well, even growing maroon talons at the ends of them. To top it all off, your body was surrounded by a light blue aura, and objects around you would often begin to hover as the glow consumed them too.</p><p>You would have always taken that form if it wasn't so inconvenient for objects to just start floating away from you. You had gotten the hang of the telekinesis under normal circumstances but whenever you went full demon or beast form it was simply out of your control. </p><p>Another valuable tidbit you had learned was the hierarchy in this world. Lucifer and his family stood at the top but you were pleasantly surprised by the discovery of the other four tiers. Overlords, Sinners, Imps, and Hellhounds.</p><p>Overlords were much stronger than the average demon, many of whom were seen almost as virtual Gods of the underworld. These Demons possessed enhanced abilities and frighteningly destructive powers that no power class could match, granting them a high place in Hell's hierarchy. According to your book, they usually obtained and enhanced their powers by making deals with other demons as well as defeating them in battle and taking over their territory, if they had any.</p><p>Sinners were the main demon class, those who had been sent to Hell for their sins. This was the largest tier, as well as the one with the most variety. All Sinners were once humans, born on Earth, who arrived in Hell after their death. Appearance as well as special powers varied greatly between each demon.</p><p>Imps were considered to be the lowest ranking tier and had their own separate city residing on the outskirts of the capital. The homeless and shunned were also known to make their homes there as well because of its rundown appearance and nearly inhabitable conditions. Imps were a hell-born species and as such, have never had the experience of being "alive" by human terms.</p><p>And finally, Hellhounds were listed near the bottom as well. Hellhounds were canine-like anthropomorphic demons whose appearance takes after one specific canine, like wolves or dogs. These demons normally take on a service or labor role in their communities. Demons from this class were also born in Hell.</p><p>You fell into the Sinners tier, but you were confident you could easily take Overlord status of you so chose. You had been quietly obtaining territory in small chunks, usually no bigger than a block at a time. After about three years you had a pretty decently sized territory that was nearly enough to rival those of the less powerful overlords. All of this was done on the down-low as you couldn't risk an overload such as Vox or Valentine taking notice of your activities.</p><p>You had no doubt they would annihilate you upon discovering your growing influence.</p><p>During one of these takeovers, while you were taking over another block to add to your territory, you felt a faint tugging in your chest. You were given no other warning as the floor dropped out from beneath you, the void sucking you in only to dump you back on Earth.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> One moment you were standing over a small sheep demon, knife at the ready to cut out her throat, and the next you felt a sharp tug grab at your chest. You stumbled back just as the ground opened up and pulled you in. You stood in the void for maybe a second before you were suddenly spat out. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> You were still in full demon form and your clothing was completely soaked in demon blood. You were slightly irked at this fact, who in the nine circles required your presence so badly that they couldn't even give you a few minutes to shower?! Or at least change out of the disgusting outfit you were currently wearing. You could hardly imagine yourself to be presentable at the moment, and anyone who saw you definitely wouldn't think so either. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> You look up, fully expecting to be face to face with Vox or some other demon who had teleportation abilities. Only, when you glanced around, you realized you weren't in the living space of some overlord. Instead, you were standing in someone's basement. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>  You frowned and took a step forward, halting when you felt your foot bump into something.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> You looked down. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> You were standing in some kind of summoning circle. The circle itself was... Well, a circle, with a pentagram inside. Several strange symbols were neatly painted in the center of each gap available. It was drawn in blood, that much you could tell, but you were unsure as to what species it came from. Several candles surrounded the circle along with a small variety of items.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Among these little offerings were a blue marble, an assortment of candy, a single 12.7×108mm round, a scrap of purple cloth, and a stuffed plushie of Pusheen, which was the item you had kicked over earlier. Each of these was placed at different arms of the star. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Was this seriously all it took to summon you? You would have been lying if you said you weren't a little insulted. That did not, however, mean you weren't going to indulge in the free treats. You popped a random candy in your mouth and chewed it absent-mindedly, looking around the filthy room with disdain.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> You didn't look much better but whoever lived here could have at least cleaned up a bit before dragging you here.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> The sound of someone clearing their throat alerted you to the presence behind you. Your ears twitched as you turned to look at the human who had summoned you. </em>
</p><p><em> If he was nervous he hid it well, holding a large, black </em>    <em> book with what you assumed confidence. He flinched at your full form but didn't shy away when you took a few steps towards him. Instead, he stared you dead in the eye with only a hint of fear. </em></p><p>
  <em> You straightened your posture and folded your arms behind your back a wide, unnerving grin on your face as you stalked towards him. The first thing you noticed was how short he was. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Actually, now that you're taking a look around it's your height that's the problem. The room was too small, and the tips of your ears touched the ceiling. Judging by the proportions of the room, you could guess that he was probably about 5'10". And yet, for some reason, you towered over him by a good two feet.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> It's at that moment that you realize that down in Hell, everyone was significantly taller than they were as humans, you just never picked up on this because everything was made to accommodate the taller population.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> This put your new height at about 7'0" in full demon form and 6'0" normally. That also meant the average demon was in the 6'5" -6"9' range.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> ...You may be considered tiny in the underworld, but at least you were able to look down at another being again. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Deciding to take pity on the man, who was currently craning his neck back just to keep eye contact, you shrink back down into your normal form. You began to circle around him, eyeing him up and down as you took in his features.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> He was older than you, probably somewhere in his thirties. He had short auburn hair that was messed up in different directions, it honestly looked like he'd never brushed it before in his life. His clothing was torn and caked with filth. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> His face was littered with small cuts and bruises, the most prominent being his black eye. He noticed you staring and narrowed his forest green eyes at you but refrained from calling you out.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> You breathe in and unintentionally take in his scent which was so heavily laced with musk and alcohol that it has you scrunching up your nose in disgust. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> 'Definitely an alcoholic' you decided, choosing to breathe through your mouth to avoid that stench again. You still as a sudden memory of a man fighting four others in an alleyway rushes to the forefront of your thoughts.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> You finished the circle, coming to stand in front of him. Your head tilts slightly as you allow a predatory smile to grace your features. After a moment of you looking him over again, you can certainly confirm this was the same human from all those months ago. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Your smile widened by a mere fraction at the realization. This could be fun. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> "... Mind filling me in on how such a scrappy thing like you managed to successfully perform a summoning?" You asked, vaguely gesturing to the circle behind you. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> He blinks, seemingly caught off guard, before holding up the book in his hands: 'A Novice Level Guide to Summoning Demons and Satanic Spirits'. "A lot of research and even more favors." Was his response. He then says your name in a questioning manner. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Your eyes widened slightly as your tail bobbed behind you. "So it seems you already know my name. And yet here I stand without even knowing yours. That hardly seems fair!" You raised your brow, smile falling into a smirk as you spoke. "Care to enlighten me?" </em>
</p><p>
  <em> He ignored the question, instead carrying on as if it was never even asked in the first place. "The Mid-Town Sniper, if the media is to be believed then you've killed 53 people over 4 years when you were alive, correct?" </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Your tail swishes in delight at the mention of your old profession. "54 actually! They never linked him back to me, but I've always chalked that up to how gruesome the murder was compared to my normal work! Although the fact that I used a knife instead of my lovely gun may have also played a factor." </em>
</p><p>
  <em> This catches his attention. "So you're not only proficient with a rifle but skilled in melee as well?" </em>
</p><p>
  <em> You let out a small hum as you moved to explore the basement. "I wouldn't have called it skilled at the time, but I have drastically improved since that day." Your hand traced over a colorful poster that was hanging on the wall, it seemed so out of place that you just had to inspect it.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> "I do have a beast form that I use on occasion as well, although it's a bit messier than my other methods." You turned your head to look at him. "Why do you ask?"  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> He trails behind you as you poke around the small space. "I have a few... Requests. Not of the murdering variety though, I intend to do that part myself." He snatches a box you had set your eyes on, quickly shoving it beneath the nearby workstation. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> You paused, ear flicking. "As entertaining as it would be to watch you slaughter your enemies, I'm not sure what you'd get out of it by letting me sit in. You are aware that I specialize in assassination, correct? Not parenting someone else on how to do it." </em>
</p><p>
  <em> "You are more than welcome to watch me kill him if you wish, however that's not why I summoned you here. Demons are powerful beings and you're among the strongest of those we know how to summon. I need that power or at least some of it.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> At this you froze, narrowing your eyes as you stared at the human in front of you. Your smile had completely dropped as you locked eyes with him. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> "...I am in death, what I was in life, an assassin for hire. Not some wizard who can magically make you shoot fire with the wave of a hand. If you wanted paranormal abilities you should have called upon an overload or a skilled witch, not me." Your wings unfolded themselves and flared out at the last two words. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> "Overlords are ridiculously difficult to summon, not to mention the fact that they'd be more likely to kill me on sight instead of listening to a damn word I have to say. You were the closest thing to an overload that I could afford to drag through, you're circle isn't well known so I knew you wouldn't be busy, and the offerings it requires can be found lying around the house." He ranted, making various gestures with his hands as he talked. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> "I need money and influence, a witch isn't going to give me that. And I don't want to deal with a curse if I happen to upset one somehow. If I could have, I would have summoned a lesser demon who specializes in this thing but the book doesn't cover that and while you're more proficient in murder, you're the only demon I could find who didn't have a set price or list of tasks." </em>
</p><p>
  <em> He let out a long exhale, glancing away from you as he pushed a hand through his hair. "You're the only chance I have at this." </em>
</p><p>
  <em> You simply stare at him for a moment before letting out a chuckle. "If your truly that desperate, I guess it wouldn't hurt for me to help you out in some way... " You took a few minutes to think before speaking up again. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> "You mentioned something about a murder correct? How does this sound: I'll lend you a small amount of my power to aid in your little mission, teaching you to use power predominantly at a later date. As for money, I have a decent amount and I'd be willing to help you gather your own as well." </em>
</p><p>
  <em> "And what would you want in exchange?" He replied, crossing his arms as he looked up at you. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> You looked down at him with lidded eyes. "You should never ask a demon what they want~" </em>
</p><p>
  <em>  You don't really want anything from him. You could tell just by his appearance that he'd be nearly of no use to you. However, this was your first summoning and you were determined to fulfill it even if it meant you'd get a shitty deal.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> "All I ask is for partial ownership of your soul, you'd still be free to do as you please, whenever I don't need you of course, and you would be fully under my protection as well. Think of it as being my glorified errand boy!" </em>
</p><p>
  <em> His eyebrow raised in disbelief. "That's it? What would partial ownership even mean?"  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>"In other words, it would mean I own you, not fully mind you, but in some aspects, I would have complete control. If I ordered you to do something you would have to obey without question. However, if I requested something then it would be your choice. You'd retain your free will to do as you wish whenever you're not needed. It's at its simplest terms, a servant role in which you cannot refuse orders." You finished your explanation with a grin. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> "It's as simple as that" </em>
</p><p>
  <em> "Making a deal with a demon is never simple." </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Well... He wasn't wrong.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>"But even so..." You chuckled "What do you have to lose?" You tilted your head to the side, grinning as he furrowed his brows in thought. "Of course, I'll need your name before we do anything official. Care to inform me yet?"  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> You kept your gaze locked on him as he hesitated, face contorting with uncertainty before finally falling flat with a defeated exhale. "Damion. It's Damion." Your grin widened and your tail once again swished in delight. "Wonderful! It's certainly been a pleasure meeting with you Damion. Now then..." You closed your eyes as you shifted back to your true demon form, snapping them open once it was complete. You extended a gloved hand out to him, smile unfaltering as you spoke. "Do we have a deal?" </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Your grin only grew when he grabbed your hand. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Time had passed since then. You had descended back into hell, albeit not without that plushie, and things had continued as normal.</p><p>Well, normal for you at least.</p><p>You highly doubted that having a demon pop out of the bathroom sink was a common occurrence among the surface residents. The human you'd acquired did not seem to appreciate it when you did it the first time. Never-the-less, he'd just have to suck it up because you weren't going anywhere. </p><p>As promised you lent him a bit of your power, and it amused you to no end just how horrible he was at controlling it. And you had more fun a few weeks later when you got to sit in on his little murder spree. You were pleasantly surprised when he decided to be a bit more hands-on than you expected.</p><p>He was understandably pissed when you arranged to have him killed. But to be fair, how was he going to be of any use to you alive?</p><p>Oh, he had thrown a fit for the first couple months, his anger slowly turning into despair, but eventually, he came around. You were certain he never truly forgave you for your little transgression, but he got over it with time. </p><p>He had refused to let you call him by his real name, instead going by the alias "Aspect" which he had later adopted as his new demon name. You never really saw the point of receiving a new name upon death but you eventually just decided to let him be after being continuously ignored when using his old name.</p><p>It did not take long for his humor to emerge. He found delight in morbid jokes, racist and sexist quips, puns, and just all around making himself a nuisance to society. It was all in good fun and he'd tone it down if he noticed the person was taking offense, but otherwise, he'd just keep going on and on until you dragged him away.</p><p>At times you felt more like a babysitter than his handler. </p><p>Nonetheless, you kept him around. When he wasn't actively trying to piss off the neighborhood, he made a pretty good ally. He was often the one to pull you aside to reassess a situation, and he had saved your sorry ass more times than you could count. However, that wasn't much of an accomplishment when you looked at how many times you had to save his.</p><p>Seriously, who the fuck hacks into hell's news program at midday to broadcast poorly photoshopped porn of the TV demon and expects to get away with it?! That little fiasco had you struggling for months just to keep the overlord from tearing your life apart. In the end, you had lost half your territory, a pair of angel spears, and a good portion of your dignity as well. </p><p>You chuckled as you stretched out in the tub. Looking back on it now, you had to admit it was decently funny. Your phone buzzed in your lap and you glanced down to dozens of notifications, the most recent of which was a text scolding Aspect over his poor life choices. You snorted as he began to bombard the chat with rebuttals and claims that he was quote-unquote "Perfect in every way", which then somehow dissolved into a debate over which of the two was your favorite.</p><p>Seizing the chance to cause some mischief, you typed out a quick text labeling Dakota as your favorite and set the phone down to allow the chaos to unfold. Dakota, or Fun Size as Aspect preferred to call her, hadn't been with you nearly as long as Aspect had, having only joined your group a little over a year and a half ago. </p><p>You had found the little hellhound in an alley on the edge of your territory while on patrol. You were going to leave her be, but when you walked away the sound of pained shouts drew your attention. When you turned back you had found her bloodied and bruised, cowering beneath some sort of chameleon demon. Your vision bled red and the next thing you knew the demon was laid out on the ground and you were taking home an eight-year-old-child. </p><p>It was rough at first, Aspect immediately took a liking to the child, desperately trying to gain her attention, she'd ignore him and focus all her attention on you, clinging to and following you around everywhere you went, all while you were trying to find a way to con her off on someone else. You had no experience with children, nor parenting, which just added to your growing desperation to rid of her (without having to outright murder the child). </p><p>To your dismay, no matter how many people you pawned her off on, the little tanuki always found her way back on your doorstep. Eventually, you'd just come to accept the fact that she wasn't leaving and set up a room in your apartment for her. Aspect also had a space for her in his place, but the kid blatantly refused to live anywhere near him. As such, you found it a fitting punishment to force her over there for a couple of days if she became too much for you to handle.</p><p>That might have been a poor decision on your part because Aspect wasn't even home right now to watch her. You paused, spending a moment deciding whether or not this would bite you in the long run before shrugging.</p><p>Better for you if she wreaks his place instead of yours. You had learned the hard way that being bipedal didn't mean the person in question wasn't prone to animalistic tendencies. Dakota might be able to function like a normal person, but she was more pup than human. Which meant you had to bring home a bone and several chew toys to keep her from gnawing on your hard furniture. </p><p>Your poor, poor antique coffee table... It didn't deserve the pain that demon child put it through.</p><p>You yawned as the clock in your bedroom struck twelve, it's deep chime reverberating throughout your apartment. The cleanse was over. You groggily pulled yourself out of the tub, flicked off the lights, and maneuvered into your bedroom, gracelessly falling face-first onto your bed. Snatching one of your pillows, you curled around it and buried your face in it as you finally gave in to sleep. "Happy fucking New-Years..."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>To make the timeline work, I've decided that the annual cleanse is the last day of the year, December 31. What better way to start the New Year with a fresh start than by cleaning out the population?</p><p>On another note: Grammarly suggests the writer to change lingerie to dainties. Who knew? XD</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. An Angel By Any Other Name</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Morning's post-cleanse are usually spent clearing the yard of dead bodies, dealing with repair work, and treating your adopted "daughter" to breakfast. </p><p>Notice how I said usually.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>TW: Blood &amp; Gore, Physical Injury, Italian Speech, &amp; Bitchiness All Around</p><p> </p><p>For fucks sake Google translate is a mess. Try turning "holy shit" into Italian and switching it back and forth a few times. It goes through three different meanings before stopping on mama mia. I had to look up another translation site just to get it somewhat correct! If you want translations head to the end notes because no man on earth should have to suffer through what I have -_-</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>You snorted awake to the sound of your alarm going off. Muttering into your pillow, you reached out for the clock on the nightstand, not even bothering to open your eyes. What was the point if you could sneak in a few more z's? </p><p>After a few agonizing seconds of blind slaps and blaring music, you eventually managed to hit the snooze button. You groaned and buried yourself further under the covers while you peered out the window at the brightening sky. </p><p>You could feel yourself slowly zoning out as your brain attempted to shut itself off again. Unfortunately for you, it was at that moment your alarm decided it was time for an encore, the music coming back even louder than before. You sat up straight and ran a hand through your ruffled hair as you stared blearily at the wall. You rubbed your face and slammed your hand down on the alarm again, this time making sure it was off to prevent any more unpleasant surprises. </p><p>You rubbed the sleep out of your eyes and hissed at the bright light that fell on your face. You felt it was a bit too early for the sun to say hello to your eyeballs. It did not.</p><p>With a drawn-out sigh, you heaved yourself out of bed. You've never been a morning person and you highly doubt a millennium in hell is ever going to change that. You yawned as you make your way over to the bathroom door and stopped in front of your full-length mirror. You grimaced at the woman who looked back at you. </p><p>Your pale skin exaggerated the bags under your eyes, making them look bigger and darker. Your thick hair had tangled into itself throughout the night, leaving you with a nest of snarls and knots, and your dull, sleep glazed eyes stared back at you with judgment in their gaze. </p><p>All and all, it really wasn't a good look for you.  </p><p>You reached over to your dresser, snatching up the outfit you had set out the day before, and locked yourself in the bathroom to clean yourself up. You left the bundle on the toilet seat and cranked the shower handle to "hot" as you undressed. You stood there and ran your fingers through the nest that was your hair as waited a few moments for the water to heat up. </p><p>Once you deemed it warm enough to enter, you stepped in and pulled the curtain closed. You stood there and took a few minutes to enjoy the warmth, letting the heat from the water soak into your skin. Once you had enough of that you emptied a bit of shampoo into your hands and lathered up your hair. </p><p>A small smile played on your face as you inhaled the subtle scent of roses the product emitted. It was a rather strange find, and some might consider it stupid, but you found the smell to be comforting. You rinsed and followed up with a matching conditioner, moving on to a vanilla-scented body wash when you were done with that. </p><p>You stepped out feeling refreshed and wrapped a fluffy towel around yourself. You adjusted the cloth and stepped in front of the mirror to assess the damage.</p><p>Eyeing the bags under your eyes, you squeezed a bit of concealer onto a cotton ball and applied the solution to the darkened skin. Now, you were rarely one to use make-up, but a disaster like this needed to be covered. You pulled away from the mirror when you were satisfied with the coverage and threw the cotton ball away.  </p><p>You pulled the towel from your body and rubbed it against your head in an attempt to dry your hair before eventually giving up and letting the hairdryer do the work. You ran a brush through your hair as it dried, wincing every time it hit a snarl and letting out a sigh of relief when you got through it all. </p><p>Not bothering to do anything with your hair, you moved back over to the toilet and looked over the bundle of clothes laid out. </p><p>You picked up a grey cotton shirt, pulling it on after you clipped your bra around your back. You stepped into a pair of denim shorts next and sat on the edge of the tub to pull on a pair of socks before covering them with a set of white, knee-length boots. After you tightened the boots light blue laces, you stood to shrug on your white tailcoat. You admired the baby blue cuffs for a moment before grabbing and pinning a pastel pink bow neatly onto your coat's collar which was colored to match the cuffs.</p><p>You walked out of the bathroom and stood in front of the full-length mirror, buttoning your coat as you admired your look. This was your everyday wear and you had similar pieces hanging up in the closet, but you only had the one coat. Whenever you went out you dressed to impress, you had a reputation to uphold and you would damned if you didn't dress your best. </p><p>With one last adjustment to your bow, and after taking a moment to clip one of your knives to your shorts, you snatched your phone and set out. You locked the door behind you and slipped the key into your pocket as you tapped away on your phone. </p><p>You shot Aspect a quick text, letting him know that you'd be taking Dakota off his hands before shoving the device into one of your short's pockets. You highly doubted he would wake up in time to read it, the lazy ass only ever got up around noon, but it was common courtesy to leave a message. </p><p>Device safely stored away, you began to make your way across your territory. Looking around at the scenery, you decided that you kinda liked it down here. Or, well, you liked it as much as a damned soul could, being trapped for eternity and all that jazz. As much as you hated mornings, the morning air was cleaner and the quiet that came from the lack of people was refreshing. The area you picked out to inhabit wasn't bad either. The buildings were mostly maintained, stores were well stocked, and there was even a bit of greenery around. </p><p>You considered yourself lucky to have taken such a lovely territory. Of course, it didn't look like this when you first arrived. You brought most of the plants in yourself and you had to fund a lot of the renovations, but it was all worth it in the end. As an extra plus, the people who lived here were noticeably happier living under your govern than they had been before, which, in turn, made transactions and cashing in favors considerably easier. </p><p>Your feet carried you through the town as you stayed lost in your thoughts which eventually veered towards a topic Aspect had brought up recently. Apparently, you needed to get out more. You made it a point to keep interaction to a minimum, only making exceptions for clients, and even then it's just a few exchanged words before the conversation ends. People tended to avoid you anyways, keeping their distance because of your odd appearance or watching your every move as if you planned to kill them.</p><p>Oh, and you conveniently forgot to mention your recently acquired haphephobia. Yeah, that played a part in your social outings as well.</p><p>It didn't make you uncomfortable, the stares. In fact, it was about what you expected, but Aspect seemed to think you needed to expand your social circle. You had responded by dumping most of that week's paper workload on him. </p><p>Being a ruler was hard. You had to keep tabs on everyone who lived under you, write up contracts and terms, make sure everyone's health and safety were maintained, and meet up with those who wanted to join the community or who needed something from you. You always let Aspect deal with the meetings, and while you'd join in on the conversation you rarely went in person. You preferred to talk via screen where you could appear more intimidating if you wished. It also helped that the demon in question couldn't get to you if they had any bad intentions.</p><p>Most overlords just considered anyone who lived in their territory as their underlings and left them to do as they pleased, but you were a bit pickier about who you allowed to stay. If someone was outwardly hostile towards you or Aspect they were immediately vetoed as you didn't need some random demon roaming your streets to gain followers for a revolt. The same went for those who went around stirring up trouble. You tried to keep a peaceful community and you'd be damned if you let some low life come in and maim some of your taxpayers.</p><p>You're weren't gonna lie, it felt a bit odd for people to pay you for protection rather than giving you a bit of cash to hurl someone out of existence. But, you supposed it wasn't too strange of an occurrence, finding a safe place to sleep was hard to come by these days. </p><p>You were torn from your thoughts once you realized you'd arrived at your destination, the red-stained, wooden house rising before you. You walked up the stairs and pressed the small button off to the side of the door. Your ears twitched as they picked up a soft ring echoing through the house and the crash of something that was no doubt fragile before the door slammed open. </p><p>You let out a huff of amusement at the sight of the (very) excited hellhound bouncing on her heels and tail wagging uncontrollably. "You ready to go?" You eyed the leather wallet cradled to her chest. She nodded her head and stepped out, pausing to lock the door behind her before turning back to you with a grin. "Can we stop by the shopping district first though? Dami made me a list of things he's gonna need."</p><p>"That was the plan" you shrugged and backed away from the building, trying to ignore Dakota's bright smile as she practically hopped down the stairs after you. "So... he lets you call him by his real name?" The girl shook her head "No, but he lets me get away with Dami sometimes." </p><p>Of course, he did the little shit. </p><p>You kept an eye on the child as you two of you made your way downtown and out of your territory. You didn't exactly stare at the kid but you made sure most of your attention was either on her or your surroundings at all times. </p><p>You stopped in your spot once you heard the awe-filled gasp that sounded out behind you. You turned to see Dakota eyeing a small, almost antique-looking music box sitting in the display window. The box was closed so you couldn't see the inside but the exterior had been tinted a ruby red with black flower decals carefully painted on. "Can we get it? Can we get it? Please, please pleeeeease?" She smushed her face up against the display, giving you her best puppy dog look as she all but vibrated in place. </p><p>Jesus, this kid already knew how to pull on your heartstrings and get exactly what she wanted. It was confirmed. You were getting soft.</p><p>'Goddammit.'</p><p>You hesitantly agreed and let her go inside to buy the item while you searched for local cafes on your phone. You looked up when the door's bell chimed and gave Dakota a small smile as she proudly displayed her new purchase. She handed back the bills you had forked over to her and upon your inquisitive stare admitted that she had paid with Aspects money instead.</p><p>Good on her, you had taught her well. </p><p>You chuckled, pocketing your phone as you led her around the local shopping district, both of you occasionally pausing to window shop or pick up an item from Dakota's list. The two of you stopped at a crosswalk and you took this time to turn your gaze to the young girl beside you. </p><p>Hellhounds had always been a thing of fascination to you. Despite the simple fact that they were always canine based, each person differed greatly from the next, even between two demons of the same species. You had little doubt that if you put Dakota side by side with another tanuki the pair would have very few similarities. </p><p>Dakota stood at about 5'2", which, while an average size for a demon child, she would have towered over any human children her age. She had a dog-like muzzle with sharp teeth and a dark grey nose, with dark, raccoon-like facial markings that resembled a mask around her purple eyes.</p><p>She had short, tan fur with dark brown patches on her hands and feet. Her short, bushy tail was darker than the rest of her body and faded to a black tip. Her ears were also small, brown rounded triangles outlined in black that barely peeked out from under her hair which was grey at the roots and faded to chocolate brown, styled in a long, side-swept pixie cut. </p><p>Her current outfit consisted of an oversized, light grey, turtleneck paired with black leggings, a purple scarf, and dark grey loafers. And, at some point during your walk, she had snapped the stem of a pink flower and had put it in her hair as well.</p><p>You turned your attention to the road as a car drove by, speeding through the lanes before disappearing from your view. A loud crash sounded out not long after and you quickly ushered Dakota across the street as a cacophony of horns blared from the crash site.</p><p>It wasn't anything unusual, but you did not need the attention from the wreck migrating onto the two of you. Your reputation was finally cooling down after the Vox incident and you didn't need your face plastered all over the internet again. You withheld a sigh as you turned a corner and the commotion died down a bit. </p><p>The two of you passed by an alleyway and you paused upon hearing a strange noise from within. You furrowed your brow as you peered behind you, ears pricked and listening for the sound again. Sure enough, it repeated itself and after a moment of debating whether or not you wanted to deal with whatever was within, you gave in to your curiosity and backtracked a few feet to investigate.</p><p>You stuck your head into the alley and stepped fully in once you caught sight of the demon sprawled out on the ground. Your eyebrows hiked up your forehead as you took in the demon's rather... disheveled appearance. </p><p>He<em>-'Wait, are those breasts?'  </em> She-'<em>No, it had a masculine face...'  </em> They? were over six feet, you knew immediately because they were way taller than you... By an almost absurd amount. Maybe 8-feet-ish? Possibly even taller since they weren't even standing at the moment.</p><p>You weren't sure as to what species of demon it was, hell, you could barely make out what color their fur was underneath all the blood. Poor soul more than likely had a couple of bones broken as well.</p><p>Well, they were out cold so it's not like they could feel it anyways.</p><p>You pressed your foot into the demon's side and received a groan for your actions. Cool, so they weren't dead. If they were lucky and there wasn't any internal bleeding they'd probably heal up by the end of the day. You shrugged and simply decided to let them be, turning on your heel with the full intention to continue your little shopping spree before freezing in place after seeing Dakota standing at the entrance to the alley.</p><p>'Well, shit. There go my plans for the day...'</p><p>You sucked in a breath and sidestepped so that the demon was out of her view, spreading your wings for good measure. Your attempts to avoid the inevitable were quickly thwarted as she simply frowned at you and ducked under your wings, one of her ears brushing against the wing causing you to shudder and immediately snap them back to your side as you moved out of the young girls way.</p><p>"...Is she okay?" She asked leaning down and shaking one of the four arms the demon was currently sporting. The demon in question let out a wheeze as Dakota pressed down on their chest next, prompting you to shoo her away before she caused any more damage. </p><p>You personally didn't give two shits if the kid hurt them or not, but you knew it would crush her if she thought she caused someone pain. You pinched the bridge of your nose. This kid really was too sweet for this world and you had no doubt that had she been a human, she would have went straight upwards when she died.</p><p>Too bad she was born a demon... She was missing out on so much down here.</p><p>"ith us?" You blinked and refocused on the kid in front of you. She immediately noticed your confused expression and with a roll of her eyes repeated the question for you. "Can we take her with us?" You winced and turned your gaze to the demon still bleeding out on the gravel. "Bold of you to assume that's a woman. Although, now that I'm actually paying attention, is that a miniskirt?" </p><p>Dakota was not impressed with your attempt at stalling and proceeded to try and heave the demon out of the alleyway. </p><p>She did not get far.</p><p>You withheld your snickers as you watched her struggle for a few minutes to lift the demon, eventually changing to pushing against them, before finally just grabbing one of their booted feet and slowly dragging them across the pavement. </p><p>She managed to move about two inches before you finally had enough and put a hand out to stop her. You glanced around and finally took notice of the several demons hungrily eyeing your little group, most of them staring at the demon on the ground or the kid dragging them out of the alley. You let a small amount of your power out, shifting your shape slightly into your demon form as you glared at the crowd, scaring a decent chunk of them away and ignoring the remaining sinners as you turned back to the child.</p><p>You rubbed your temples to try and alleviate the headache that had been building for the past few minutes. "Alright, alright, let go of their foot. I'll give Aspect a call and we can get them somewhere safe." Your words seemed to placate the child and she dropped the demon's leg to go stand by you as you pulled out your phone to give your charge a call. </p><p>The phone rang four times before it was finally picked up. There was a bit of irritated grumbles and shuffling before he started mumbling into the receiver. "The fuck do you want..." You rolled your eyes and put a hand on your hip as you turned your attention to the demon on the ground in front of you. "Get your ass over here. We got a problem." More shuffling as something fell to the ground, "What do you mean 'we got a problem'? The hell is happening?" You took a step out of the alley and scanned the area around you, flipping off a particular demon who was staring, while you checked for the nearest street sign. "Just, get over here dude. Corner of Eighth and Main, look for the alley, you can't miss it." You ignored the banging and shouts on the other end as you flicked off the phone, ending the call.</p><p>A yelp rang out behind you and you immediately snapped your head around to look at Dakota. She held her hands to her chest and backed up with wide eyes as the downed demon flailed at her, cussing up a storm in a language you didn't recognize. You blinked, confusion rising as they yelled at the child in an undeniably masculine voice. "Che diavolo sta succedendo qui?!" </p><p>Still baffled, you glanced around the alley for something to use that wouldn't outright hurt them. Him? </p><p>
  <em> 'Who the fuck knows at this point...'  </em>
</p><p>Your eyes landed on a stick and you snapped your fingers. A blue glow quickly encompassed the stick as you held your hand out, slowly guiding it over to the demon. You waited until it was above his head before flicking your wrist downwards, causing the stick to tilt and smack him on the head. </p><p>He recoiled with a shout and turned his attention to you. "Ow! Stupida puttana! Per che cos'era quello?" You gave him a deadpan look. </p><p><em> 'Still talking foreign. How unfortunate.' </em> </p><p>You crouched down to his level and gave him another whack with the stick before tossing it to the side, satisfied with his annoyed wince. A small, amused smile played its way onto your face as you watched them lift a hand to rub at their forehead. You observed them for a few moments while they pushed at their hair before they noticed your staring and scowled. "The fuck you lookin at toots?"</p><p>Well now, how could you resist that? You gave them a shit-eating grin as the words poured out of your mouth. "A beat-up, sorry excuse of a demon." He, you decided they were indeed male, scoffed before dropping his head back to look at the sky. "Well good morning to you too bitch." </p><p>Dakota came up beside you to poke at one of his more injured arms, to which he flinched away and swatted at her. Your hand twitched and your magic surrounded her, lightly tugging her a few feet away.</p><p>While you were relieved he wasn't outright attacking the child, it was more of an annoyed display of dominance, you still felt uneasy with him trying to touch her. He huffed as she moved to stand beside you and flopped back to the ground. You raised your brow. '<em>This dude has no sense of self-preservation.' </em></p><p>He laid there in silence for a bit before looking back over to you. "Soooo... mind tellin me who ya are and where we're at?" You hummed looking out towards the street as you answered. "Far East of the shopping district in the first circle. Next to the main road." "Figlio di puttana..." He muttered before letting out a grunt in acknowledgment and falling silent again. </p><p>Strange that he was being so compliant, he didn't look the type. You shrugged it off and briefly introduced yourself along with Dakota who gave him a small wave upon being recognized. He gave you a nod, staying silent for a few minutes before speaking up again. "Buon Dio, why are ya still here? </p><p>You blinked. "Would you believe me if I said I'm here to help?" That seemed to get a rise out of him if the follow-up laughter was any indication. "Porca puttana, are you serious? You're fucking kidding, right?" He gave you a skeptical glance when you didn't speak up. "Wait... hold up, are you being serious right now?"</p><p>You let out a huff of air. "Unfortunately. Believe me, if Dakota wasn’t around I wouldn’t even bother talking to your sorry ass. Kid's a goodie-two-shoes." He let out an unbelieving chuckle and rubbed his face. "Well isn't that just swell, I gotta friend like that too, cept she ain't a kid like little miss raccoon over here." Your smile twitched up as Dakota let out a growl of protest, immediately racing to defend herself. "I'm a Tanuki!" </p><p>He laughed again at the child's outburst and dragged his hands down his face. "Ah, fuck it. Name's Angel Dust. I'd say it's a pleasure to meet cha but..." He gestures to the area around him. "Take a good look around hun, cause this is a really shitty way to meet someone new." You let out a huff in agreement as the conversation drifted off into a silence that wasn't exactly awkward but wasn't comfortable either.</p><p>You opened your mouth to speak again but was cut off by your phone's ping alerting you to a new message. Eager for the distraction, you looked down and swiped your thumb across the screen, unlocking the phone and opening the messaging app.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>9:28 AM  <em>  •   </em> Rated-R4Real </strong>
</p><p>
  <em> I'm here </em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Ayyye, the calvary has arrived</p><p>Anyways, for those of you who don't speak Italian, here's a rough translation of Anthony, or Angel Dust's little spiel:<br/> <br/>What the hell is going on here?!<br/>Ow! Stupid bitch! What was that for?<br/>Mother fucker... (Son of a bitch. Because apparently that phrase doesn't exist in Italian. They really love their moms.)<br/>Good lord<br/>Holy shit</p><p> </p><p>I'm late! I'm so sorry, this was meant to be a double length chapter but I've finally decided on cutting it in half. The next chapter is pretty much done, just need to finish and tweak the ending so this should get an update by the end of this month! If not then, than it's coming first week of next month. </p><p>Until then, stay tuned~</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. The Happy (...Hazbin?) Hotel</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In which you meet a demon, her girlfriend, and her hotel staff.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>TW: Brief Talk Of Murder, Threatened At Knife Point, The Spanish Language, Alcohol, &amp; Cliff Hangers &gt;:3</p><p>Oh god guys it's only been four chapters and this already has over 100 Kudos?! I've seen books with chapters in their seventies and I'm making better pace then them? Wth thank you!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>You turned to look behind you at the sound of footsteps entering the alley. You stood from your crouched position and brushed your hands together to rub off the dirt that had accumulated on them as you eyed the newcomer. "Glad to see you could finally make it to the party Aspect. Didn't think you'd be capable of escaping the warm clutches of your bed."</p><p>Aspect stood at the height of 6’4" and never let you hear the end of it. He was fairly lean but was more than muscular enough to give any grown demon a decent fight, with various scars littering his body. </p><p>His hair was silky with gentle white waves that stuck out at all angles due to the lack of brushing it had endured throughout his existence. His hair color made the two fluffy, blood-red wolf ears peeking out from beneath his hair even more eye-catching. </p><p>The only feature he got to keep from his previous life was his piercing green eyes as even his trademark grin had changed, blunt teeth becoming sharp fangs that he thoroughly loved to flash at any chance he got. He had a fair, pale complexion (though not a pale as yours) with little blemishes other than the smattering of red freckles across his nose and cheeks. A faint scar ran diagonally across his right eye which caused him to squint very slightly. You weren't concerned as, when questioned, he had reassured you that it was purely aesthetic and didn't hinder his ability to see in any way.</p><p>His clothing usually consisted of comfort wear, so it came as no surprise to you when you took in his outfit. He had currently adorned a dark red hoodie, under which was a pair of dark jeans with a hole cut in the back to release his furry tail. Burgundy sneakers adorned his feet and to top it all off he was wearing his signature black leather collar around his neck. </p><p>You eyed the accessory with disdain. The damn collar had originally started off as an inside joke, a way for you to tease him. You had gifted him the collar one year after a playful conversation the two of you had about him being your faithful dog. </p><p>Shockingly, instead of cussing you out or outright rejecting the gift, he just laid down and took it. It was terrifying how quickly he managed to turn it in his favor, teasing you left and right, asking if you wanted him to beg for you and how you should put him in his place. </p><p>You resented the damn thing ever since, but you could never manage to make him get rid of it. And anytime you threw it out it was always back on his neck the next day. Eventually, you came to terms that he wasn't trashing it anytime soon and just allowed him to do as he pleased. </p><p>You had no idea when he found the time to buy and get a tag engraved, but at this point, you've just learned not to question these sorts of things. Thankfully he hadn't gone overboard on it, simply etching the words "Aspect" on the front with your name on the back along with clear instructions on how to contact you. </p><p>He had, quite literally, labeled himself as your dog. </p><p>He stuffed one hand in his pocket and gave a lazy wave with the other before shoving it in his hoodie as well. "Sup?" He gave a yawn, digging his hand out of his pocket to scratch at his cheek as he looked around. "So what's the big problem you had me drag myself out of the house for?" You winced and pointed a thumb over your shoulder at Angel. </p><p>He blinked before focusing his attention on the busted up demon behind you. "Heh... Geeze uh, not lookin too hot over there buddy." Your ears twitched, swiveling in opposite directions as they picked up on Angels muttering <em> 'Something about being too hot for you to handle?' </em> and Aspects next sentence. </p><p>"-I mean, I don't really see why you need me to take care of some dude who can't even move away from the puddle of their own blood." He looked over at you with his face slightly scrunched.</p><p>
  <em> '...Huh?' </em>
</p><p><em> 'oh...Oh! </em>' You pressed the heel of your palm to your forehead. "Yeah, no. I didn't call you here to kill him. Wa- Do you seriously think I can't handle that-" You gestured at Angel who immediately flips you off in return. "By myself? I'm not that fucking weak Aspect!" </p><p>He snorted, quickly covering his mouth with a hand as you glared at him. He took a moment to compose himself before lowering his hand and giving you his best poker face. Which wasn't very good considering he didn't even get two words in before his mouth quirked up in a half-smile.</p><p>"Nah, you're not weak just... Soft." He pointedly stared at your ears as he fought against an even bigger smile and failed. You felt your ears twitch in irritation, which only added to his pleased expression. In an act of rebellion, you re-acquired your stick and gave one of his ears a poke, your own smile becoming smug as he hissed and pulled away. </p><p>"Alright, alright! God woman, you just can't take a joke can you?" He managed to snatch your weapon out of the air and chucked it across the alley. A commendable attempt, but you could easily get it back with a snap of your fingers. "If you're done throwing a hissy fit, mind filling me in on why I'm here?"</p><p>"Well, I don't need you to kill him, that's for sure." You carded your hand through your hair as you glanced down at the demon still laid out on the ground. A small frown made its way onto your face. "...I need to move him." </p><p>He blinked at you with a blank look on his face before diverting his attention to Dakota, who was currently chatting it up with Angel. His brow raised as he looked back at you in silent question. You just gave him a tired nod. That seemed to be good enough for him as stepped around you to join in on the trio's conversation. You let out a silent sigh of relief at his lack of questioning and backed up a bit to give him some space as he began to argue with the downed prick.</p><p>Ten minutes and several tasteless insults about your mother later, your little group was on the road. The original plan was to dump Angel off at some shitty motel with a bit of cash, but not even halfway through your idea Dakota had demanded he stay with them. </p><p>That little statement started up a whole new fight as there was no way you were going to let a stranger stay overnight in your home or unattended in Aspects. Which had now lead to the situation you were currently in. A small pack of canine demons fighting over a bloody pulp of a demon in the middle of the road.</p><p>Fully fed up with their shit, you decided to make your annoyance known. "So, since we're not dropping you off at a motel and you're sure as hell NOT staying with me, where the fuck are we supposed to be taking you?" You glared up at Angel who cut off mid-pickup line to look over Aspect's shoulder at you. </p><p>He rolled his eyes at your completely done expression before slumping back into Aspect's hold. He mumbled off a short address before pointing his thumb over to the left. "Happy Hotel, pretty close to the center of town. Really can't miss it."</p><p>You gave him a grunt of acknowledgment before taking the lead of the group, Dakota right on your heels with Aspect falling behind a tad, as you began making your way to the center of the pentagram. </p><p>You hadn't gone tromping about the heart of the town since you first appeared down here and you can't say you've missed it. Too much traffic for your tastes. </p><p>You sidestepped a large lizard demon, letting out a snarl as he came a bit too close to comfort for you. He turned on his heel, mouth open to say something, but seemed to think better of it once he caught sight of your expression alongside the hateful glare Aspect was giving him.</p><p>A low growl bubbled up in your throat as you continued on, falling back to allow Aspect to lead the way, walking in his shadow to avoid being shoved by the crowd. You were tense for most of the walk, shoulders clenched and ears swiveling erratically as your little group trekked through the heart of the city. </p><p>Relief washed over you as you turned off the main road and the large building came into view. The place was massive, stretching up into the blood-red sky as its neon sign flashed the words "Hazbin Hotel".</p><p>
  <em> 'Huh... Thought it was called the Happy Hotel?' </em>
</p><p>You glanced over at Angel. He caught your gaze and raised a brow making a gesture towards the door. </p><p>
  <em>'Well alright then.'</em>
</p><p>You gingerly stepped up the stairs, the almost church-like glass panes on the door giving you pause for a brief second as you admired them before raising your hand to knock. </p><p>Two pairs of footsteps came up behind you and you craned your neck back to look at Aspect. You hesitated a second, glancing over your companions before turning back and hitting your hand against the door. </p><p>You knocked a couple times before dropping your hand and backing up a bit. You waited a few moments, shuffling your feet in the looming silence that came with it. After a solid minute of no response, you raised your hand to knock again just as the door swung open.</p><p>A demoness with long, blonde hair, white skin, and rosy cheeks popped her head through the crack. Her black eyes peered at you in curiosity but quickly grew wide in horror as she caught sight of Angel Dust. </p><p>"Angel! Oh my gosh, what happened to you?!" She pulled the door open fully, revealing the rest of her person along with the room behind her. You examined her red tuxedo for a moment, glancing over the black bowtie and white shirt before bringing your attention up to her face again. </p><p>She ushered your group inside, pausing to glance at the street before shutting the door behind you. She lead you all through the lobby, talking frantically as you tune her out and look around.</p><p>You took notice of the receptionist's desk just past the entrance hall, a big ‘concierge’ sign on top of it alongside a hand-drawn welcome banner. Several paintings of what looked like family portraits hung on the walls, all depicting the girl in a less than comfortable position with her family. </p><p>You moved past the bar area and the sleeping, winged cat demon within and followed the demoness towards a sort of living area. She instructed Aspect to leave Angel on the couch as she rushed off, likely to fetch medical supplies. While she was gone you took the liberty of exploring the vicinity.</p><p>Aside from the plush couch the arachnid was currently sinking into, the room also contained a newly renovated fire pit, or, at least you <em>think </em>it's newly renovated. It's in better condition than a large portion of the hotel. The eye fixed in the wall above it follows you as you lightly wander the space. </p><p>You peek into the bar area and take note that not only does the room not match the theme of the rest of the hotel, but it looks as if someone ripped it out of some sort of club and hastily fused it into the building. The wall didn't even go up to the ceiling, you duly noted, as you stared at the jagged drywall mashed into the brick structure. </p><p>You strolled back into the room as the demoness rushed in with a first aid kit. She immediately dropped to the floor and began working on Angel's injuries, gaining nothing but muffled curses for her efforts. </p><p>Aspect leaned down to help, moving clothes out of the way and offering to hold the struggling demon down. However, after getting shooed away a few times, he took that as his cue to retreat to the bar, leaving you to deal with the demon girl alone. </p><p>Well, not <em>alone </em>you supposed. He left the kid with you. </p><p>While you were deciding whether or not it was a good idea to push Dakota off on Aspect, who was definitely doing his best to get hammered at the moment, the demoness turned around to address you. </p><p>"I can not tell you how much it means to me that you brought Angel all the way here. It's rare to find a decent person down here and I'm so relieved he got picked up by you instead of someone else." </p><p>She looked away, rubbing the back of her neck. "I know... I know he wouldn't have <em>died</em>, but he could have been much worse off if you hadn't gotten him out of there when you did." </p><p>She removed her hand from her neck and looked up at you with a soft smile on her face. "So, I guess what I'm saying... Is thank you."</p><p>You locked up. Genuine praise? Damn, how long had it been since you last received something like that? </p><p>You realized that you'd been silently staring at her for a while and she was beginning to sweat, her genuine smile becoming a nervous one. You blinked and mentally slapped yourself, looking over her shoulder to the couch behind her. </p><p>She seemed to relax once your attention was off her and she stood, wiping her hands on her pants as she rose. She opened her mouth to say something else but was cut off as another demoness trudged down the stairs, wiping at her eyes groggily. </p><p>She froze in her tracks when she spotted you, glancing between you and the blonde chick a few times before her gaze finally fell on Angel. That had her wide awake instantly as she practically flung herself between the two of you, an angel spear materializing in her palms as she stared you down. </p><p>Your wings flared out as the sharp point of the spear touched your throat. "¡Perra enferma! ¡Lo que sea que le hayas hecho a Angel, lo pagarás!"</p><p>Great... You started off the day being insulted by an Italian drug lord and had upgraded to a monochrome Mexican. </p><p>Today was advancing wonderfully.</p><p>"No! Vaggie wait. This isn't what it looks like! They were ju-" While the blonde demon freaked out on your behalf, you took in the woman's appearance. </p><p>She was a fairly slim demon with gray skin and white hair which changed color to light pink stripes at the tips. Her right eye was light-yellow with a light pink sclera while the other wasn't visible due to the pink cross taking its place. Whether there was an eye there or an empty socket, you didn't care to know.</p><p>She had on a white, off the shoulder dress that had two crosses above her breasts and a grey belt tied around its waist. Beneath that were a pair of black platformers and two different colored stockings, one dark grey with white lace, the other similar but with added pink stripes. </p><p>She had a pair of long gloves on as well, one fingerless and one not. Finally, to top it all off, a huge pink bow sat atop her head. You tilted your head slightly when you noticed the soft outline of the bow spring into a hornlike shape as her anger continued to bubble over. </p><p>It was odd to have clothing or items that reacted to your emotions, but not uncommon down here. In fact, you're fairly certain you had a choker lying around somewhere with an eye that glowed different colors depending on your mood.</p><p>
  <em> 'Hah, take that God! Bet you don't have magical mood-ring necklaces up in Heaven, do ya?' </em>
</p><p>"-how do you know we can trust her?! For all we know she's the one who beat the crap out of him in the first place!" The demoness moved her attention to the blonde, unintentionally shifting the point of the spear further into your throat. You narrowed your eyes and took a step back, bringing her attention back to you as your hand reached up to push the spear away from you. </p><p>"I, personally, didn't do anything to the dude." You shifted your head slightly to look at Dakota out of the corner of your eye. Poor kid had been terrified when she recognized the spear and ducked behind your legs. </p><p>"Believe me, if the kid wasn't around when I found him then I would have left him to rot on the curb." The white demoness looked at you in confusion until Dakota peeked her head out from behind your legs. Your wings shifted to rest against your back again, one wing curling around the girl, just shy of touching her. </p><p>She looked between the two of you for a few seconds before she slowly lowered the spear. She crouched down and gently smiled at the child, practically cooing at her as she moved out from behind you. The kid slowly shuffled to stand beside you, reaching up to carefully grasp the sleeve of your coat. You flinched slightly but allowed her to hold the piece of fabric. </p><p>Once you found that your episodes were only triggered by skin to skin contact (or by nasty surprises), the two of you had come to a sort of compromise over the years. While she wasn't allowed to actually touch you, you would let her grab loose articles of your clothing for comfort. As for you, you'd often grab the back of her shirt collar to keep her from wandering off in a crowd. </p><p>As you were reminiscing, a sharp sound pierced the air, causing your ear to flick. You blinked and tilted your head, slowly dragging your eyes across the room. Something wavered in your peripheral and you snapped your head to look, finding nothing but a darkened corner. </p><p>Before you could investigate further, the blonde demoness clapped her hands together with a gasp. "We've completely forgotten to introduce ourselves!" The monochrome girl tensed and looked up at her with a small frown set on her face. The other girl completely ignored the look and continued to chatter on happily.</p><p>"I'm Charlie and this lovely lady is Vaggie!" She said as she pulled the now blushing "Vaggie" to her side. Now that the two of them were together, you could see that Vaggie was actually shorter than Charlie, which was a bit confusing to you since the moth demon had been so ready to jump to the larger girl's rescue. </p><p>You spent a moment pondering the two women's relationship before you were ushered along into the next room. You flared your wings out as the energetic demoness tried to touch you and she got the hint, settling for waving you forwards instead. The sound rose again, spiking enough for you to just make out what it was.</p><p>
  <em>'Radio static.'</em>
</p><p>You furrowed your brow in confusion as you followed the women into the bar area and you discreetly looked around for a radio. While you did your little scan, Charlie spoke up. "This is Husk! He runs the bar area and also serves as our greeter. Niffty was around here too last time I checked..." </p><p>She trailed off as Husk took a moment to raise his head from the counter to look you over before dropping it back down with a groan. Aspect let out a soft chuckle at the demon's pain before snatching the bottle out of his grasp and pouring himself a drink. Dakota released your sleeve to go sit on a stool, content to just swing her legs and twirl the seat around for the moment. </p><p>During this whole fiasco, the static had been steadily increasing in volume, causing your ears to pin to your head in an attempt to block out the noise. To your immense relief, the flood of static stopped and you allowed your ears to shift upwards again as a shadow fell over you. Charlie stopped muttering to herself and looked behind you.</p><p>“O-Oh Alastor! Welcome back! Great timing by the way, I was just showing these guys around the hotel.” She gestured to your little group with a smile. "They brought Angel back as well! Isn't that great?"</p><p>Your stomach dropped as the presence behind you shifted, a static laced chuckle ringing out above a corny laugh track. "That certainly is something, isn't it~"</p><p>
  <em> 'Oh fuck...'</em>
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  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Ha! How many of ya'll thought Al would be in this chapter? Turns out, you'll have to wait another month. Meweh heh heh! I'm so evil! &gt;:3</p><p>Don't worry guys, I promise Alastor will make his debut in the next chapter. Side note: Who likes Jambalaya? I have no idea what it is but I'm determined to write it!</p><p>Translations for Vaggie's lovely potty mouth:<br/>"You selfish bitch! Whatever you did to Angel, you'll pay for it!"</p><p> </p><p>Next chapter might come out a bit late next month as I have two new stories I'm currently sketching out!</p><p>Until then, Stay tuned~</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you guys so much for reading! Let me know what you thought! Life willing, this will update once a month.</p><p>Comments give me life. Tell me if you hate it, love it, or just want to disappear into your room with it and never emerge. I won't judge lol</p></blockquote></div></div>
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